Key West Kitchen Recipes

For the Love of Goats (and Goat Cheese!)

I love goats. They are endlessly curious, highly acrobatic and just plain fun to be around. They are, well, capricious, a word whose Latin root literally means “goat-like.” My love of goats is followed closely by my fondness for goat cheese, with its distinctively tangy taste reminiscent of the farm. I was reading about artisanal cheese makers a while back and came across a post about a small goat dairy in Tennessee that is making some outstanding cheeses. Reading a little further, I saw that the farm was within a half hour’s drive from my hometown! On my next trip back to visit family, I decided to stop by.

Stove-Top Low Country Boil

Seafood boils, accompanied by tubs of ice-cold beer, are great options for making a large crowd of hungry, thirsty guests very happy without spending a fortune. They are quick, flavorful and not overly demanding on the host.

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Slow cooking is as old as fire but the technique seems to be enjoying a new popularity. There are all sorts of clever (and often expensive) devices that will cook your dinner while you are at work or running errands, but you really don’t need those things unless you are amazingly busy and can only slow down long enough to wolf down your slow-cooked dinner (a bit ironic, isn’t it?).

Chicken Roulades with Prosciutto and Basil

One of the best skills a home cook can learn is how to make a dish that has some complexity and depth of flavor without spending all day in the kitchen. This adaptation of saltimbocca, a favorite dish from the Lazio region near Rome, fits the bill perfectly.

Roasted Chicken With Anchovy Basil Pan Sauce

It seems that most people view anchovies in the extreme. These briny little fish elicit an immediate love them or hate them response from most people, even though they may not have had much experience eating or cooking with them. In reality, anchovies are great flavor enhancers, whether subtly enriching a sauce or in the forefront as a key ingredient in a fresh salad.

Key West Callaloo

Countless versions of callaloo, the spicy stew made with tropical leafy greens, are found throughout the Caribbean. Arriving from Africa with the slave trade, the recipes for callaloo were modified based on the availability of ingredients on each particular island.

Risotto with Butternut Squash and Pancetta

Risotto is one of those simple, inexpensive dishes that, with the application of a little patience and technique, can transform itself into a rich, deeply flavorful creation that belies its humble beginnings. As long as you stay true to a few basics, you can take risotto in any number of directions.

Festive Cocktails for Company

Making that first round of cocktails for a crowd of dinner guests can be a handful. Everyone (at least the polite ones) arrives at pretty much the same time and descends on the bar like a swarm of thirsty mosquitos. Having a batch of interesting, refreshing and, most importantly, made- ahead cocktails on hand can make this crush much more manageable and even more fun for the guests.

Stone Crab Mustard Dipping Sauce

Stone crabs are one of the many things I love about Key West. Not only does their sweet, firm meat taste amazingly good but their arrival also signals the end of summer and the approach of near-perfect weather for the next seven or eight months.

Griddle Cheeseburgers with Parsley-Shallot Butter

I’ve been tossing burgers on the grill for more years than I care to admit. Nothing wrong with that, but recently, I have started making an “indoor” burger that is a mean rival to the grilled one. It harkens back to the diner burger, that deliciously juicy patty cooked on a griddle that oozes with beefy flavor.